Barbecue aficionados may blanch at the thought of cooking brisket in an oven, but this home-kitchen-adapted brisket from Louie Mueller Barbecue, a 2006 America’s Classic, is so credible, so reliable, and so delicious, I’ve stopped worrying about what the purists might say. You can try it for yourself when our forthcoming James Beard’s All-American Eats, a cookbook and tribute to our America’s Classics winners through the years, drops in March. Yes, the recipe calls for an eye-popping amount of black pepper, and parts of the method are a bit quirky, but don’t hesitate: this is one of the most successful recipes I’ve ever made, and I’ll be keeping it in my back pocket for football games and poker with friends. —Anna Mowry, Special Projects Manager, Media